with the question of whether the Green Line marks Israel’s border – and that is not Mr. Obama’s position
“With Friday’s UN Vote, the international body and Barack Obama were basically saying that any Jewish community outside the “pre-1967 borders” is in "occupied Palestinian territory."
But that is true, isn’t it? Israel acquired this territory as the result of war. The Israeli government itself treated the territory as “occupied Palestinian territory” – the military ran the territory and the Pallys were not given the full rights of Israeli citizens.
And under the Fourth Geneva Convention, settlements built on territory acquired by war are illegal. Do you disagree? So until the parties negotiate actual borders, the settlements are illegal under international law.
And while you are correct that the Green Line was not meant to be a border, Mr. Obama has been quite clear that he agrees with that. Mr. Obama does not consider the Green Line to be a border but simply what it is – a line. And his position is that the actual border should be determined by the parties “by the 1967 line with mutually agreed swaps.”
"And it was my reference to the 1967 lines – with mutually agreed swaps – that received the lion’s share of the attention, including just now. And since my position has been misrepresented several times, let me reaffirm what “1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps” means. By definition, it means that the parties themselves – Israelis and Palestinians – will negotiate a border that is different from the one that existed on June 4, 1967. That’s what mutually agreed-upon swaps means. It is a well-known formula to all who have worked on that issue for a generation. It allows the parties themselves to account for the changes that have taken place over the last 44 years. It allows the parties themselves to take account of those changes, including the new demographic realities on the ground, and the needs of both sides."
So what is wrong with his view? Start with these lines and then negotiate the border to reflect the changes that have taken place over the last 48 years. The resolution also says "lines" - not borders.
Notwithstanding Dershowitz’s false claim that the resolution prevents praying at the West Wall, the resolution simply essentially confirms what the Geneva Convention says and still leaves the question of borders to negotiation by the parties. But until these borders are negotiated Isael is an occupying power and the settlements ARE illegal.
Posted By: DoctorGonzo
A compilation of thoughts and observations:
Do the "Palestinians" Really Want a State? No, not really.
In all the focus on the December 23rd vote at the UN Security Council the question of underlying Palestinian motives has not been addressed. It should be. In fact, it’s the key to the whole exercise.
First, the Palestinians have rejected one offer after another for a peaceful settlement in the past nearly 70 years. Second, their misguided actions now make any chance of an accord even less likely.
If the goal was to increase the chance of Palestinian statehood alongside Israel (and not in its place), the effort was an abysmal failure, despite the lopsided vote. Those diplomats who rushed to applaud the outcome should think twice about what they actually achieved.
If they wanted to excoriate Israel, a longstanding vocation of too many UN member states, then they can thump their chests. But for those truly committed to advancing prospects for peace, they took a big step backwards, once again falling into the Palestinian trap.
There is no such thing as Israel's "pre-1967 borders"
With Friday’s UN Vote, the international body and Barack Obama were basically saying that any Jewish community outside the “pre-1967 borders” is in "occupied Palestinian territory."
What they won’t admit because of their anti-Israel bias is that there is no such thing as pre-1967 borders. That “green line” running through the West Bank is the 1949 Armistice Line.
The armistice line was created solely because that’s Israeli and Arab forces stopped fighting at the end of the War of Independence (with some added adjustments in certain sectors).Therefore that 1949 line, that people call 1967 border is really only a military line.In fact, 1949 Armistice Agreement with the Jordanians explicitly specified that the line that was designated did not compromise any future territorial claims of the two parties, since it had been “dictated by exclusively by military considerations.” Of course the Jordanian rationale for that clause was to allow them to claim territory inside the armistice line for their very own.
Even if the Palestinians were to change their minds about wiping the Jewish State off the map (they never have), there would remain another major barrier to Israel reverting to the pre-June 1967 borders….they do not exist!
Even UN Resolution 242 which was passed by the UN Security Council five months after the Six-Day War recognized that the 1949 Armistice line was not supposed to designate final Israeli borders.
Now if only the outgoing President had bothered to heed his own advice.
-- Modified on 12/26/2016 8:22:39 PM